The rise of the 'afternoon delight' hotel booking

[Shea Veile]

The rise of the 'afternoon delight' hotel booking

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35577272






Paris, as everyone knows, is the city of love, the place where most people say they would like to have a romantic affair. Well, out of Paris comes a new development in the hotel trade that's calculated to help lovers in their quest for time alone - a website that helps couples book daytime hotel rooms.

Until very recently if you wanted to use a Paris hotel room for a couple of hours in the daytime - whatever your purposes - then you had a choice.

Either you paid top whack to keep the room for the night as well, even though you didn't plan to use it.

Or you went to a sleazy dive in a street like the Faubourg St Denis, near the Gare du Nord - the sort of place that used to be referred to familiarly in English as a "knocking shop".

But lovers of the world rejoice! Times have changed.





Not for the first time, liberal economics have joined forces with liberal sexuality, this time to popularise the "afternoon delight".

French website Dayuse.com is even now ushering in daytime guests to crisp-sheeted bedrooms, complete with trouser-press and kettle, from Sao Paolo to Singapore - and of course in Paris.

The business case is obvious.

Of course, there are couples who use Dayuse - and we welcome them. But they are not our priority.
Lorenzo Sciotti, Dayuse

The greatest asset for a hotel is its rooms - but most of the time (i.e. in daylight hours) most of them are empty.

In many of the world's big cities, hotels have been hard hit by home-share sites like Airbnb. In Paris there are now more Airbnb rooms on offer than hotel rooms.

Every device to recoup lost income is welcome - so what better way than to sell your rooms twice over?

"We are offering hotels the chance to boost income by 10%," says Lorenzo Sciotti, Dayuse's business development manager in London.

"And for customers - they get a hotel room for a few hours at a fraction of the price they would pay for a full day."






Clicking on the Dayuse page, you see a variety of offers. A typical Paris experience might be a hotel in the Latin Quarter charging 80 euros (£62) for a morning booking (0900 - 1300), and 95 (£73) for the afternoon.

Night-time prices would be double that.

Interestingly, Dayuse makes it very clear that no credit cards are needed in order to book. Is this a hint of the target clientele? After all, as everyone knows, rogue receipts are the worst enemy of the undercover Lothario.

Of course couples come here in the afternoon, and everyone knows what it is for - but we regard it all as perfectly normal.
Joan Chaussey, Eugene en Ville Hotel, Paris

Not a bit of it, says Sciotti.

"Our primary market is business-people - people who need a rest between flights, or a place for interviews or meetings.

"After that we are targeting people who want to use hotel facilities in the day-time, like spas and swimming-pools.

"Of course, there are couples who use Dayuse - and we welcome them. But they are not our priority."

With no breakdown of the figures, it is impossible to know how many of Dayuse's estimated 320,000 users fall into each category.





But it is safe to say that, coyness apart, publicity about the lover-potential does Dayuse no harm at all.

After all the moral opprobrium that used to attach to afternoon assignations has largely disappeared - at least in the liberal West.

In Paris - a city whose morals were once looked on with envious horror by foreigners - the institution of the cinq-a-sept (the five-to-seven, ie 5pm to 7pm) allowed faithless spouses to be back home in time for dinner.

The whole thing becomes sexier, because we are in a hotel in the middle of the day!
"Elise"

To carry it off, wealthy men maintained a separate apartment, or garconniere, where lovers could be entertained. Everyone else resorted to knocking shops, or bordellos.

Today checking into a decent hotel for a few hours of daytime intimacy may invite remarks of the nudge-nudge kind, but little more.

"Of course couples come here in the afternoon, and everyone knows what it is for. But we regard it all as perfectly normal. Don't you?" says Joan Chaussey, manager of the Eugene en Ville hotel in central Paris.

"I wouldn't say it is part of any particular Paris tradition. I would just say it is part of life."

For Elise (not her real name), who often uses daytime hotels with her boyfriend, the system is tailor-made for the modern twenty-or-thirtysomething.






"My boyfriend and I have busy, stressful lives. We often work late and at weekends. It's very important to find time together when and where we can," she says.

"This way we can have a couple of hours of intimacy in the middle of Paris, maybe with a bottle of champagne. The whole thing becomes sexier, because we are in a hotel in the middle of the day!"

The explosion of online dating agencies has presumably provided a rich source of daytime customers, and it is hard to see how hotels can be sure some are not call-girls.

But there is no gainsaying the demand. Last month Dayuse announced that it has raised 15 million euros (£12m) in venture capital to continue its international expansion.

As Dooley Wilson sang, the world will always welcome lovers.

And as time goes by, it finds ever more profitable ways of opening the door.

More from the BBC

Like many other non-Christian countries, Japan has got into the habit of celebrating Christmas - but as well as the usual decorations and presents, the Japanese have also made this season into a romantic one. For the country's famous Love Hotels this is by far their busiest time of year.

The day Japan's 'love hotels' sell out

[UTR4Passion]

I LOVE IT!!!
Thanks for sharing, Shea.

[silverstate53]

Houston has its Palace Inns but then again its not Paris

[ElisabethWhispers]

Originally Posted by silverstate53

Houston has its Palace Inns but then again its not Paris

One day, I REALLY would like to try one of those Palace Inns!

Thanks for the topic, Shea!!!

[silverstate53]

EW dont take that as an endorsement of all of them - they are all over houston. I am lucky enough to live near one of the best of them on the far west side of Houston.. I know for a fact they bought all new mattresses about 6 months ago as i was stuck in parking lot by the 18 wheeler they were unloading.

[Papa Noel]

Here is the ultimate reasonable afternoon delight palace........rent for 4,6,8,12,hours or a whole day......but people rarely rent for whole day. 24 hour room service menu.......check out the selections......

They used to have an English version of the website......but I couldn't find the link to click. Hit the "Suites" button and then click on the pics to see the different types of playpens. Hit the "Gastronomica" button and check out the food......

http://www.vipsmotel.com.br

[Luke Skywalker]

Originally Posted by Papa Noel

Here is the ultimate reasonable afternoon delight palace........rent for 4,6,8,12,hours or a whole day......but people rarely rent for whole day. 24 hour room service menu.......check out the selections......

They used to have an English version of the website......but I couldn't find the link to click. Hit the "Suites" button and then click on the pics to see the different types of playpens. Hit the "Gastronomica" button and check out the food......

http://www.vipsmotel.com.br

Rio has plenty of those...

[annoe]

Search for Dallas and it comes back with one result, but if you search for Plano the site barfs all over itself.

[BritneyB93]

I think it's so cool! How romantic to meet your partner for a workday afternoon rendezvous!!!

[maxim_232]

How many people go to bbc.com expecting something different?

[hk toys]